Audiometry

Will Styler - LIGN 113


We’ve now talked about ‘objective’ hearing tests


Audiometry characterizes how effectively people are able to hear sounds


Today’s Plan


Audiometric Testing Equipment


Sound Booth

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Sound Booths are crucial


Audiometer


Basic Audiometer Functions


Audiometers can be basic or complex





Complex Audiometer Functions



Software-based Audiometry


Transducers


Supraural Transducers


In-Ear Transducers


High-Frequency Headphones


Bone Conduction


Sound Field


Calibration is key!


Pure-tone Audiometry


Pure-tone audiometry


Types of Tones


Examples (800 Hz)

Pure:

Pulsed (200ms):

Warble (3 Hz):


The goal is to establish a ‘threshold’


The procedure


Patients will give false responses!


Precautions to avoid biased tests


‘5 Down 10 Up’ Paradigm


The threshold is determined by a 50% response rate


This creates an ‘audiogram’


You’ll likely want to test bone conduction as well as air conduction!


You’ll want to use masking


You might test higher frequencies too!


We’re going to stop here with pure tones!


Speech Audiometry


Pure tones capture one aspect of hearing


Speech Audiometry has three aspects


Speech Audiometry Procedure


Not all words are equally understandable


Sample Audiology Spondees


Testing follows a fixed procedure


Reported Results



These audiometric data give great information


All of this is recorded and reported in the audiogram


Reading Audiograms


Audiograms give us data about thresholds, by frequency, with and without masking


Looking at an audiogram gives us information about hearing loss


The Speech Banana


Audiograms can then be interpreted for diagnostic purposes


Let’s look at a sample audiogram




Wrapping up


Thank you!